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HUB 03 · Mandolines & Graters

The Best Box Graters

A box grater is the one that does everything; a rotary grater does one job and does it more safely. Here are two box graters worth owning and the rotary to buy when hard cheese is all you grate.

By Stephen V.Updated How we pick
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The short answer

Quick picks

#ProductBest forScorePrice
01
OXO OXO Good Grips Box Grater
OXO Good Grips Box Grater

The box grater that gets it right: four sharp sides, a soft non-slip base and a container that catches and measures.

Everyday grating
8.6
$19.99Amazon
02
Cuisinart Cuisinart Box Grater (CTG-00-BG)
Cuisinart Box Grater (CTG-00-BG)

The budget box grater: a simple, sharp stainless four-sided grater with no container to store or wash.

Budget grating
8.0
$18.53Amazon
03
Zyliss Zyliss Classic Rotary Cheese Grater
Zyliss Classic Rotary Cheese Grater

The tableside grater: a hand-crank rotary that grates hard cheese fast and keeps fingers well away from the drum.

Hard cheese, safely
7.8
$21.98Amazon

#ad · Prices pulled live from the Amazon Product API, last checked Jul 21, 2026. Where we have no verified live price we show none — we would rather leave a gap than print a number that has gone stale. Scores are our own, compiled from published specs; they are not test results.

The OXO Good Grips Box Grateris the best box grater for most kitchens because it gets the boring things right: four sharp surfaces, a soft handle, a non-slip foot that keeps it planted while you bear down on a block of cheese, and a container that catches the shreds and measures them. A box grater is the versatile choice — it handles hard cheese, soft cheese, vegetables, chocolate and citrus zest — and if you own one grater, this is the one to own.

Box grater vs. rotary grater: two different jobs

These are not competing versions of the same tool, so pick by the job. A box grater is the generalist: you press food against a flat perforated face and it shreds or grates almost anything, in real volume, for pennies. A rotary grater is the specialist: you load hard cheese into a small drum and turn a crank, which grates it quickly and — the real point — keeps your fingers nowhere near the cutting surface. The Zyliss Classic Rotary Cheese Grater is the pick when your grating is mostly parmesan at the table and finger safety or restaurant-grade convenience matters. It is not the tool for a pile of vegetables or a block of mozzarella; a box grater is.

Which box grater for which buyer

Buy the OXO Good Grips Box Grater if you want the most comfortable, most stable grater with the gratings caught and measured for you. Buy the Cuisinart Box Grater (CTG-00-BG)if you want the same four-sided job for less money and do not mind losing the non-slip base and the container — it is sharp, simple and there is nothing extra to store. Choose the Zyliss Classic Rotary Cheese Grater only if hard cheese, grated safely and often at the table, is genuinely your main need. Each pick below carries its surfaces and a plain line on who should skip it.

The knuckle rule for box graters. The danger with any box grater is the last inch of a shrinking block, where your knuckles run out of room above the teeth. Stop grating while there is still a good handful to hold, and save the nubs for melting or the food processor. A rotary grater sidesteps that risk entirely, which is much of its appeal.

In detail

The picks, in full

01
OXO OXO Good Grips Box Grater

Everyday grating

OXO Good Grips Box Grater

Surfaces:Coarse, medium, fine grate and a slicerBase:Non-slip foot; removable measuring-marked containerHandle:Soft, comfortable grip
Catch container includedNon-slip base
8.6/10

The box grater that gets it right: four sharp sides, a soft non-slip base and a container that catches and measures.

Grating speed
8.5
Comfort
8.8
Versatility
8.5
Build
8.5
Value
8.8

What it gets right

  • Sharp on all four surfaces from the start
  • Container catches gratings and has measurement markings
  • Non-slip foot keeps it planted while you grate hard cheese

What it doesn't

  • Bulkier to store than a flat grater
  • The container is one more thing to wash

What it costs to run

OXO publishes no usable wattage for this machine, so we do not show a running-cost figure for it. Here is the method we would have used.

Skip this if…

…You only ever grate a little hard cheese to finish a plate — a handheld rasp or rotary grater is neater for that one job.

$19.99on Amazon

$24.9920% off

Price last checked Jul 21, 2026. Prices move constantly — Amazon's at checkout is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to OXO Good Grips Box Grater

02
Cuisinart Cuisinart Box Grater (CTG-00-BG)

Budget grating

Cuisinart Box Grater (CTG-00-BG)

Surfaces:Coarse and fine grate, slicer and zester sidesBody:Stainless steel, four sidesHandle:Padded top handle
Low price
8.0/10

The budget box grater: a simple, sharp stainless four-sided grater with no container to store or wash.

Grating speed
8
Comfort
7.5
Versatility
8
Build
7.8
Value
8.8

What it gets right

  • Cheap, sharp and does the core job well
  • Four different surfaces including a fine zesting side
  • No container means nothing extra to store

What it doesn't

  • No non-slip base — it can skate on a wet counter
  • No catch container to measure gratings

What it costs to run

Cuisinart publishes no usable wattage for this machine, so we do not show a running-cost figure for it. Here is the method we would have used.

Skip this if…

…You grate a lot and want the gratings caught and measured — the OXO's container and non-slip base are worth the small premium.

$18.53on Amazon

Price last checked Jul 21, 2026. Prices move constantly — Amazon's at checkout is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to Cuisinart Box Grater (CTG-00-BG)

03
Zyliss Zyliss Classic Rotary Cheese Grater

Hard cheese, safely

Zyliss Classic Rotary Cheese Grater

Type:Hand-crank rotary drum graterCertification:NSF restaurant certifiedCare:Dishwasher safe
Finger-safe drumNSF certified
7.8/10

The tableside grater: a hand-crank rotary that grates hard cheese fast and keeps fingers well away from the drum.

Grating speed
8
Comfort
8.5
Versatility
6.5
Build
8
Value
8.2

What it gets right

  • Grates hard cheese quickly with no risk to knuckles
  • Great for grating straight onto a plate at the table
  • NSF certified and dishwasher safe

What it doesn't

  • Only really suited to hard cheeses and nuts, not vegetables
  • Small drum means refilling for large amounts

What it costs to run

Zyliss publishes no usable wattage for this machine, so we do not show a running-cost figure for it. Here is the method we would have used.

Skip this if…

…You need to grate vegetables, soft cheese or big volumes — a box grater is far more versatile than a rotary drum.

$21.98on Amazon

$24.9512% off

Price last checked Jul 21, 2026. Prices move constantly — Amazon's at checkout is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to Zyliss Classic Rotary Cheese Grater

How we picked

Tools we claim to have lab-tested: 0

Every site in this category tells you they ran twenty machines through a lab. We have not, and we say so. Here is what we do instead: read the manufacturer's manual and spec sheet, record the published bowl capacity, motor rating, blade and disc counts and materials, cross-check the warranty against the manufacturer's own warranty document, and cite all of it so you can check the work. Prices come live from Amazon's API and disappear rather than go stale.

The scores above are judgments from that documented research — not test results. The full rubric, including what disqualifies a product, is published in full.

Questions

Frequently asked

Is a box grater or a rotary grater better?
Neither — they do different jobs. A box grater is the versatile everyday tool that handles cheese, vegetables, chocolate and zest in real volume. A rotary grater is a hard-cheese specialist that grates parmesan quickly and keeps fingers well away from the blade, which makes it ideal at the table but poor for vegetables or soft cheese. Most kitchens want a box grater; add a rotary only if hard cheese is most of what you grate.
What can you not grate on a rotary grater?
Soft cheeses, most vegetables and anything in large volume. A rotary grater is built for firm, dry cheeses like parmesan and pecorino, plus nuts and chocolate. Soft mozzarella gums up the drum, vegetables do not feed well, and the small drum means constant refilling for a big job. For any of those, use a box grater.
Do I need the box grater with a container?
It is a real convenience, not a necessity. The OXO Good Grips Box Grater’s catch container measures the gratings and keeps the counter clean, which is handy when a recipe calls for a cup of shredded cheese. If you tend to grate straight over the bowl or pan you are cooking with, the simpler Cuisinart Box Grater (CTG-00-BG) does the same cutting for less and is one fewer thing to wash.

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